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Snowden and His Fellow Fantasists

Declassified NSA documents disprove his claim that he could legally wiretap anyone.

By

L. Gordon Crovitz

Nov. 24, 2013 6:52 p.m. ET

Edward Snowden thought he was exposing the National Security Agency's lawless spying on Americans. But the more information emerges about how the NSA conducts surveillance, the clearer it becomes that this is an agency obsessed with complying with the complex rules limiting its authority. Contrary to the fantasies of Mr. Snowden and other critics, the NSA may be dangerously risk-averse.

Last week the NSA responded to demands for disclosure by declassifying a 2,000-page trove of documents, including reports to Congress and...